'I do miss getting to do my job': Meteorologist Krista McEnany on health scare, road to recovery

INDIANAPOLIS - We've seen your messages.




Over the last couple of months, you've noticed someone special missing from our team, Meteorologist Krista McEnany.




Krista not only forecasts the sunshine, but she's also a bright light here in our studio and for you at home. She has faced some medical challenges.




Now it's time for her to share her story.

'I have no recollection'

On the morning of April 24, 2025, Krista delivered a warm spring forecast. It was your typical Thursday on CBS4 This Morning.




Not even 24 hours later, the unexpected happened.




"I have no recollection of the moment of it actually happening," she said. "Just the stories of my husband telling me what happened. I woke up in the middle of the night and was complaining of a headache and I guess I started giving a weather forecast and started seizing and so he recognized that was me having a stroke."

When every second mattered, Krista's husband jumped into action and called 911. She was rushed to the hospital.




"It turned out I had an AVM, so it's some veins and capillaries twisted together that I guess I was born with, and it ruptured, so I had a bleed on my brain, so that's what caused my seizure," Krista explained.




According to the Mayo Clinic, AVM stands for an arteriovenous malformation. It's "a tangle of blood vessels that creates irregular connections between arteries and veins. This disrupts blood flow and prevents tissues from receiving oxygen. An AVM can occur anywhere in the body, including in the brain."

Doctors needed to put a drain on Krista's brain. She had surgery to remove the AVM, so it doesn't rupture again in the future. She was at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital for nearly a month; all but three days were spent in Neuro ICU.




"There were some other complications along the way as well," Krista said. "In addition to having the surgery to have the drain put in and having my AVM removed, I also had to have surgery on my throat to open my airway back up. I had a trach (tracheostomy) put in and they had to remove a lot of scar tissue from being intubated and extubated, repeatedly. I had some breathing difficulties they went in and fixed."

Road to recovery

It's been a long recovery process.




"I've definitely had some physical setbacks, balance and walking has been a bit difficult that's gotten a lot better. I've been going to physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy as well, and everyone has been very supportive."




The doctors, her family and friends are amazed by her progress and how far she's come so quickly.




"I'm spending a lot of time with doctors, which I'm very thankful that they're doing such a great job at helping me get better. It is a lot, I have to ask my husband a lot, okay, what's on the calendar or schedule today?" Krista revealed. "What time do we have to be there today?"

Krista is aware of the messages and the well-wishes from viewers across central Indiana. She said it means a lot to her to know people care.




"It means a lot that people are bothering to, one, notice that I'm gone," she quipped. "And then send me all the kind messages hoping that I am okay and asking when I will be back, which it'll be a couple of months still."




There's another very special reason it may be a little longer before you see Krista back on the air.




"It's an exciting announcement, but it's something that's made this whole situation a little bit more complicated, is that we're expecting our third child! So, we're very excited about that but it also led to a lot of concerns about while I was going through having a stroke with a seizure - is everything okay, so baby has been monitored very closely. It's a boy. He's doing very well. He's due in late October."

Krista's superpower

Here at CBS4 and FOX59, you can imagine, we all miss seeing Krista around the newsroom.




"I do miss getting to do my job and give the forecast and hanging out with all of my amazing coworkers," she said.




Along this difficult journey, she has learned something remarkable.




"Apparently, I have a superpower, as some may say, being pregnant with a higher level of progesterone is actually helping speed up my brain healing process, so that's what studies have shown, so being pregnant is actually helping me heal."




We already knew she had a superpower. You could call it; super-strength and it's inspiring all of us every day.

Send Krista a message

If you'd like to join in and send wishes to Krista McEnany, you can do so by commenting on our Facebook post or by sending her a card to our station.




Our mailing address is:




FOX59/CBS4
6910 Network Place
Indianapolis, IN 46278




We'll make sure she gets your message.




Meanwhile, Krista hopes to be back here at FOX59/CBS4 soon. We can't wait for her return!



via: https://fox59.com/morning-news/i-do-miss-getting-to-do-my-job-meteorologist-krista-mcenany-on-health-scare-road-to-recovery/